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In fact, a huge part of me hated going to church as a child, mostly because my Mom insisted on going in the mornings and I have never been a morning person.

And then I didn't like the rituals of the Catholic Mass.

Weirdly enough though, I actually liked Mass when I am in school... partly because it was a chance to see boys and partly because I wasn't sleepy... and it's cool to see friends leading the hymns and reading the passages. I even kept our hymn book... somewhere in the dungeon that is beneath my old bed.

I was never religious... but somehow, I have always believed in a God, that there is a Greater/Higher Force at work in this world. So, even if I wasn't particularly prayerful, I also always called out to him when in pain, distress or despair.

When I got married, there started this niggling feeling that I should be more religious... or for me to find a higher purpose to my existence. I can't quite explain it but I wanted to be part of a church, but was too lazy and set in my ways to actually really commit my Sundays to one.

Plus, the one priest that truly had me looking forward to sermons left St. Vincent Parish/St. Pancratius Chapel to sow seeds of goodness elsewhere... and then I discovered CCF/TMA Homeschool because of homeschooling. Because the homeschooling movement was driven by devout Catholics/Christians, I got to be familiar with CCF pastors and leaders... leading me particularly to pastor Peter tan-Chi and his daughter Joy Mendoza, who is married to Edric Mendoza.

But CCF wasn't a convenient place for us to go to every Sunday, especially now that they have moved to Tiendesitas. Sorry, but I really don't like the Ortigas area. Hehe.

And then, I got to listen to Bo Sanchez speak at a homeschooling conference and I was mesmerized... I have known him as someone from the Kerygma magazines I used to be subscribed to, and the founder of Catholic Filipino Academy. So, I finally got curious about The Feast... but even if the venue where he speaks is at PICC, somewhere really near where I live, it took me over a year to get my butt over there.

I did it today, on Pyro's birthday... with my husband. And I really felt home. It had the Catholic rituals from my childhood but also had the inspirational talks I love about CCF. And Bo Sanchez is such a dynamic speaker, I could see hubby responding to him too.

Hopefully, this is really the start of a more religious life for our family.

And I guess... even those years of hating being dragged to church were part of what led back to it now. Sorta like the waiting period for the Chinese bamboo tree.